My First Year with Sofia

A year and a bit ago I received the most beautiful gift in the world, my little baby girl, Sofia.

It’s been a wonderful year, during which Sofia made my every day more beautiful with her love, joy, beauty and innocence. She grew up from a small baby who wanted to be held in arms all the time to a curious, cheerful, happy, energetic, sociable and clever child who explores the whole house on her feet and who enjoys learning about the world around her.

It’s been a full year, the most wonderful year of my life. This is a sort of diary/recap/notes, so that I will always remember what my life with my little Sofia is like and perhaps inspire others.

I wanted her a lot and it took a few months of trying before I got pregnant, during which I was worried that it might not happen. Turns out I had no reason to and everything was perfect in the end. When she was born, I used to look at her and could not believe how perfect and beautiful she was. I still stare at her in awe a lot and I am still in awe that she is mine.

The first few months were very demanding. She used to eat very often, waking up a lot during the night. I was actually watching her sleep to make sure she was fine. I miss sleeping in the same bed with her, now that she got used to sleeping in her own crib and room :)

Even though it was tiring, scary, with lots of sleepless nights, we also managed to do the following during our first year with the baby:

• Went to the Maldives, which, I know, sounds quite crazy, when Sofia was 7 months old :) I was unable to travel too much in 2021 due to being pregnant and in 2020 I was unable to travel for the same reason the entire world was unable to travel. We used to take 3–4 abroad trips a year and it was difficult for me. So once the travel restrictions were lifted around the world and the baby was a bit older (I would not have taken her on a plane half a world away before she turned 4–6 months), I looked for a safe destination that was hot during springtime in Europe, and this one seemed the safest. It was expensive, yes, but I decided I deserved a present after giving birth :)
• Went to Greece, way much simpler. She was almost one year old by that time and we travelled by car and she slept most of the time. Note: we live in Central Europe.
• Had 2 holidays in the mountains, and once we even completed a small hike along with the baby, right when she turned 1.
• Visited the grandparents on the other side of the country — note, our country is not so large, so the distance is about 200 miles, but with a small baby it can be challenging to travel.
• I watched movies and Tv series. I like fantasy, so I had to see Dune, House of the Dragon and the Witcher, etc., but I saw everything on TV, as I was unable to go to the cinema.
• I read books, I have a subscription to a service which delivers books at home, up to 5 at a time, and you must return them in about a month, so that worked. I did some light reading with romance novels and personal development. I took a break from reading child rearing books since that is all I read during my pregnancy. I read about 60 of them and I needed a break :)
• We took long walks around our neighbourhood.
• Started to learn to cook. I am an anti-talent, I had actually not done this in several years but it did not seem so complicated once I started preparing food for the baby.
• Went to the spa, along with the baby of course, took her swimming in the pool.
• Took nearby trips to parks, forests, and to show the animals to the baby.
• Managed to go to terraces and restaurants, along with my husband and baby :)
• I did manage to go to the beauty parlour, but not too often and not as often as I would have liked.
• We plan to go on some city breaks, basically the first city break with the baby, so we’ll see how that goes.

For everyday life at the present, I do everything myself during the day as the hubby is gone 8–19 (usually his work schedule is 9–18, with 2 hours for commute, and he usually performs a bit of overtime).

I take care of the baby, cleaning, shopping (online ordering has been magical during this time), washing dishes, washing clothes plus administrative work — medical appointments, what needs to be shopped for the baby, i.e. toys, pills, care products, etc. Cooking, not so much for us, more for the baby. I do have a robot for cleaning, a multicooker, laundry washer and dryer, dish washer, and sometimes I hired a cleaning lady, all of which ease my life a lot. Our parents live in different cities of the country, so I do not have help.

So, is it difficult? Yes. Is it worth it? For me, absolutely.

Nobody can describe the sort of feelings that a mother feels when she holds her newborn babe in her arms the first time. I honestly do not have words to describe how one’s entire world turns upside down. I was actually unsure for a long time, as a young adult, whether I wanted a baby — now I cannot imagine my life without my daughter. I was fortunate enough to have a great deal of amazing experiences, lots of fun, wonderful friends, and professional success. I was also lucky enough to travel on 4 continents and over 30 countries, to be independent, and so on, and what I can say is that absolutely nothing compares and nothing is more beautiful than holding your own baby in your arms, for me personally. If I had to choose between all the good things I had experienced until I had Sofia, I would gladly give them up for her. She is worth everything.

There are people I know who have the means to have babies and consciously decide not to or are hesitant about it. I am not judging, as I am a person who myself hesitated a lot with this same idea. If you are hesitant about having a baby, if you wish to have one and not certain that you will be able to handle everything, my advice is that all the hardships are worth it. For me, it was easier than I thought it would be. I read a lot about child rearing which in many ways made me expect the worst and I was lucky that things were not so complicated.

Go for it, nothing beats holding your own baby in your arms. They are truly wonders.